The Sierra to the Sea project was made possible by grants from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Kearney Foundation, and through support by the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources (LAWR) and the John Muir Institute of the Environment (JMIE). Professor Randy Dahlgren created the first Sierra to the Sea teaching module in 2006, and with LAWR Chair Jan Hopmans, received seed funding to expand the project to this interactive Web site.

The Department of Land, Air and Water Resources is a multidisciplinary department with faculty who specialize in atmospheric, plant, resource, soil and water science, hydrology, and water engineering. Teaching and research focus on both agricultural and environmental science. The faculty contribute to numerous other undergraduate and graduate programs in the Colleges of Letters and Science, Engineering, and Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Graduate programs in Atmospheric Science, Soil Science, and Hydrology offering both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees; as well as Undergraduate programs in Atmospheric Science, Soil and Water Science, Hydrology, Environmental Science and Management, and Environmental and Resource Sciences are available at the Davis Campus of the University of California.